The Crater
by JamieCalladine
Summary: Okay, so that was my Kale fanfic! I think I wandered a bit too far from Gale's POV, and it was probably the shortest one I have ever wrote, but I'm pleased with it if I'm honest, I hope you guys like it, please let me know what you think!


I hadn't heard from Katniss in months. I'd tried everything. I sent letters, I tried calling her house phone, but it just rang and rang, I got that disgusting drunk, Haymitch, to give her some messages for me, but she never responded. This is what has driven me to return to 12. For my time at 2, I learned how to roughly, very roughly, navigate a Capitol hovercraft. I never was too good at landing, accidentally dropping the claw that's used to scrape up dead tributes from their sick Games, and knocking off a huge chunk of the scorched train station, only to see that instead of the dead ruins I had expected, the ashes were burning bright and alive, writhing to be set loose upon the harsh winter air. However, seeing the ashes of everything I had once loved only fuels the inferno blazing in my heart. I walked for miles to her house, seeing it gave me the feeling of being something close to happy, but it was too drowned with sorrow to ever win out. I trudged through the grey remains of the town for hours, until I ended up at The Victor's Village. That one place in my former District where Katniss couldn't escape the horror of The Games, the anguish of Rue's death, Finnick's, Madge's, Cinna's… Prim's. I begged myself not to do it, not to knock on that sandy, yellow door. It was like there was a war inside of me, waging constantly, my love for Katniss against the fear in my brain, causing great stabs in my already torn heart. My arm was feebly stretching towards the doorbell just left of the front entrance to her huge house when I looked through the window. Seeing her cry, not just the cry of an upset child, but the tortured screams of constant pain, it was too much for me to bear. Because however I looked at it, however hard be my endeavours to delude my brain, I can only think… "It's because of me."Fear won the war, slaughtering every positive thought in my mind. I just dropped my arm, it seemed to go slower than I would have liked, but maybe it was just the one tiny, little bit of courage I had left, fighting back for me, for Katniss, for us. I just ran, straight for the woods where we had spent much of our time, I just couldn't let her see my face… How could I? When all around her was death, I destroyed the one good, pure thing in her life, the one tiny little flicker of hope that she clung to on this morbid, little rock. I mean… I killed her… I murdered Prim. Although it be by Coin's word, it be by my hand. Not even 14 years old, and I've taken all of what little, fleeting life she had experienced. Even if The Capitol is gone now, I guess they'll always be right. I'm no more than just a piece in their games. No one is. Not me, not Katniss, not even poor Prim. Katniss and I can grow old and frail, but we'll never grow any further from the Capitol's deathly grip. I was running too fast for my overly large boots, resulting in me tumbling across the rocky terrain into a somewhat shallow crater caused by some sort of debris from the bombs. I just lay there, for at least an hour, my head pressed hard into my chest, hoping the crater would just swallow me into the hard earth beneath me. "Come on… Come on!" I tell myself, "There has to be a better way…" But my limbs are too sorrowful to respond, so I continue to lie, curled in a ball, breathing in the ashes of charred life. After a while, I feel not pity for myself, but embarrassment."Get up!" I forcefully command my unwilling body, "Get up! Let's leave this mess." I tried to don my old, stony, emotionless attitude towards life, but a sudden vision of Katniss blinded my brain and shrouded my thoughts in beauty. "I know a place where we can get away from all of this. Come on." As soon as her sultry voice passes through my ear, I know what to do. With a final ghostly beckoning from her voice, "Come on, get up. Get… up." I rise to my feet, my shaky legs almost unable to carry my heavy body, and slowly walk back toward her home in The Victors Village. After 2 minutes of thoughtless striding, I arrive at her house and let myself in. As I walk into the living room, I can see her angelic face, purring softly against a tear-soaked, satin pillow. Such opposites, to have someone so full of spirit and fury when conscious, be as docile as a kitten when asleep. With expert hands, I slide my digits under her back and curl them softly around her waist, and slowly lever her up, cradling her in my arms, listening to her still softly breathing in a deep sleep. My years in the woods being to initiate again, as my huge boots seem to be no matter for my silent, light tread. I carry her for hours towards and deep into the heart of beloved woods, never allowing her to ruse beyond a deep breath. After months of separation, this time to me is beyond any heaven, defeating any notion of a perfect Utopia. I have my paradise right here, in my arms. When I arrive in the field, the sun is high in the sky, and the slightest amount of snow has begun to fall to the ground. I ever so carefully lay her down on the soft, supple bed of flowers, and simply watch her sleep. A single snowflake drifts carelessly from the sky and lands perfectly between her ruby, red lips, causing her to gently flutter open her dazzled eyes. She mustn't believe in them, as she rubs them twice before uttering,"Gale…? Is it really you?" I simply slowly nod my head, knowing not whether my arrival is joyful or unwelcome. She looks down at the field around her, and her deep, grey eyes widen slightly in recognition of the blossoming buds around her. "Primrose…" She whispers in a hush tone. After a few moments of quiet, a silent agreement to commemorate Prim's death, she meekly crawls to the empty space next to me, and sits beside me, with her knees reaching her chin. A thousand thoughts race through my mind, but one unexpectedly leaves my trembling lips."I love you." With no response, only shock on her dazed face, I know my brain has once again betrayed me, however without warning; she places her silky, smooth hand on my rough cheek, and turns my limp head to face her rosy cheeks. I close my eyes to take in the moment, and in the darkness, I feel her lips brush mine in a quick, sweet, embrace that I wish would have lasted a lifetime. I cautiously open my eyes, weary that it may all be a dream, and should I shock to fast, it would all shatter into desolate reality. However, in place of seeing my horrid, depressing home in District 2, I witness her immaculate lips form the words…"I love you too."


End file.
